 |
|
 |
|
 |
Cirque du Soleil vets mix mechanics, birdcages |
|
|
|
| 07-11-2008 09:41 Autor: collegian.psu.edu |
By Clare Brennan
Collegian Staff Writer
Penn State students and members of the community have the chance this weekend to see an upcoming Broadway production before it hits New York City. The unusual nature of the show appropriately matches this exclusive opportunity.
Birdhouse Factory, by Cirque Mechanics, is a show conceived by a creative team of Cirque du Soleil veterans. It combines birdhouses, a mechanical factory and acrobatics and will be on stage at 2 p.m. Sunday in Eisenhower Auditorium.
The production features animated acrobats, dancers, contortionists and clowns who are all former members of Cirque du Soleil, the Pickle Family Circus and the Moscow Circus, according to the Center for Performing Arts Web site.
There are 11 artists in total who are onstage for almost the entire show, Chris Lashua, Cirque Mechanics creative director, said. He added that although the show includes Cirque du Soleil veterans, Birdhouse Factory has a different feel -- and no spandex.
"One of the goals here was we really wanted to get the show in the real world, not so much the fantasy side," Lashua said. "It's a very different
aesthetic. It feels like a real place."
The idea for a mechanics-involved show struck Lashua while he was touring with Cirque du Soleil. He said he began playing around with the German wheel, an apparatus that looks similar to wheels found in hamster cages, and the more he played, the more his new contraption evolved.
The idea of "how can you build this mechanical apparatus to take advantage of the acrobatics" was what Lashua said motivated his creation of the show. "Now we've got a machine that interacts with an acrobat," he said.
In terms of show construction, the creators of the show went in reverse order, starting with all the mechanical aspects about three and a half years ago, then moving on to the setting and then finally the storyline, Lashua said.
"It was kind of a surprise result," Lashua said.
In addition to his love for mechanics, Lashua and the rest of his team drew inspiration from the Charlie Chaplin film Modern Times, artist Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry Murals and illustrations by Rube Goldberg, Lashua said.
The decision as to what the factory workers were going to build was something creators of the show considered for a long time because they were looking for the right "silly thing" to juxtapose the industrial nature of the warehouse, Lashua said.
"There's something whimsical about a birdhouse," he said.
The show is set in a gloomy, 1940s birdhouse factory, marketing director for the Center for the Performing Arts Laura Sullivan said.
"This has a real story to it. It's set in a factory so the acrobats are factory workers and the props are mechanical kinds of things," she said.
For the first act, Lashua said they decided on a modern-time Charlie Chaplin factory.
The dismal mood changes, however, when a bird flies through the window, Sullivan said.
"The atmosphere changes from a gloomy place to a joyous place. It's kind of like finding joy in what you do," Sullivan said.
After the bird enters, the factory workers decide to change the way they do business, Lashua said.
Gymnastics is an important aspect of the performers' background, club gymnastics member Meredith Pompeani (sophomore-theater design) said. Cirque Mechanics' performers, which include some Cirque du Soleil veterans, were probably at one point national gymnasts, she said.
The show has something for everyone, Lashua said.
Older members of the audience will remember the factory setting, there will be clowns and comedy for children, mechanical engineering students will be interested to see the open mechanical components and art history students will be able to see the influence of Diego Rivera, he said.
Pompeani said anyone with knowledge of gymnastics would be interested in the show as well.
"Anyone who has done gymnastics would know about it and want to go see it because it's so acrobatic," Pompeani said.
The Sunday afternoon time makes this show a good chance for students to take a break, Sullivan said, and added it will appeal to students and families.
"This is very action packed. You are going to see things that you won't believe your eyes," Sullivan said.
|
 15-07-2010 12:21 Top American circus set
for Summer in Abu Dhabi |
| 15-07-2010 12:20 Tabu invites audience to explore fear at Montreal circus festival |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
